Various vehicles comprise different on-board systems which require one or more antennas to be mounted on the vehicle at different locations on the vehicle's body. For example, manned and unmanned aircrafts generally comprise avionic systems which are mounted at different locations on the aircraft's body. Antennas have specific requirements of size, weight, reliability and maintainability. Particularly, size and weight requirements restrict locations where the antenna can be installed since poor antenna placement can degrade the flying qualities of an aircraft and impact the performance of a relevant system. Additionally, antennas have limitations regarding to the directions in which radiation intensity is radiated. These factors, as well as others, influence the communication regime between on-board antennas and other target antennas.
On-board systems utilize antennas for functions such as communication, navigation and radar functions. These systems may be of crucial importance for operating and controlling the vehicle, and therefore avoiding communication loss is desired. For example, when an aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), loss of communication with the UAV may trigger special procedures to be implemented which could result in destruction of the UAV.